Right to life over right to privacy: Supreme Court of India on Aadhaar scheme dispute

Right to life over right to privacy: Supreme Court of India on Aadhaar scheme dispute

A nine judge bench hearing the matter on Aadhaar scheme has stated that Privacy is a fundamental right but is inferior to right to life. The latter is considered when there is a conflict between the two.

Justice DY Chandrachud is of the opinion that when one is comfortable with sharing their personal information and data on social media and telephone companies which collect the data, why is it a problem to share it with the government. He has questioned the petitioner asking the difference between the two.

Subsequently, Congress governed states including Karnataka, Punjab and Puducherry and Trinamool ruled Bengal have now joined the petitioner against the Aadhaar scheme. Lawyer Kabil Sibal, representing the states said that right to privacy is not absolute but the balance should be maintained.

The government defended the scheme and stated that the Aadhaar scheme has been praised all over the world including the World Bank. It is being used as an example for other developing countries.